Curling stone



United States Patent O CURLING STNE Frank T. Gatlre, 133e William, River Forest, lll. Filed Aug. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 218,989 Y e canals. (ci. 27s-ias) This invention relates to curling stones, and more particularly to a curling stone which may be assembled from a number of manufactured parts one or more of which fand in Canada. Over the years the only acceptable curling stones, which are made of granite, have been found in Scotland.v Because of the difficulty and expense of importing these stones to the United States for players in this country, many attempts have been made vto manufacture a curling stone which would act as an acceptable substitute for the granite stones indigenous to Scotland. Although many such attempts have been made, to my knowledge no one has been able to devise an acceptable substitute curling stone. Q A

A man-made or substitute curling stone, in addition to obviating the importing. of naturally formed` stones from Scotland, would have a number of signicant advantages. A man-made curling stone could be made for less cost than the cost of an imported stone which would be a contributing cause for enhancing the popularity of the game lof curling. Also, man-made curling stones could have the parts thereof which are subjected to the most wear replaceable in nature insuring a long life for the curling stone and low maintenance expenses to the user thereof. Further, man-made curling stones could be uniformly manufactured for better control of the` amount ofcurl, i.e.,.the `tendency of the curling stone to travel in a slightly arcuate path as it is projected along the ice.

Also, a uniformly made curling stone of this nature ,would provide for more vaccurate scoring. Scoring is vdetermined by measuring the distance from the center of the mark or house to the periphery of the curling stones.

fA man-made curling stone would be manufactured as circular as possible which would allow a more accurate f measurement of this distance.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of this invention to provide a curling stone which will act as an acceptable substitute for a naturally formed stone and which may be assembled from a number of manufactured parts.

It is a further object of this4 invention to provide a Ycurling stone which may be assembled from a number of parts one or more of which may be replaceable.

It is a still further object of this `invention to provide a curling stone which will be easy and inexpensive to manufacture and which will be extremely durable in use.

These and other objects and advantages of theV invention will become apparent from the following specification wherein like numerals refer to similar parts throughout. V

In the drawings; FIGURE 1 is an elevation of a curling stone made in accordance with -this invention;

, FIGURE 2 isa plan View of the curling stone of this invention;

FIGURE 3 Vis an enlarged section taken along the line ice FIGURE 5 is an enlarged exploded vertical section of the curling stone showing the various parts thereof.

Referring to the drawings, the embodiment of the curling stone shown for purposes of illustration will be seen to includea body member, generally designated 10, which comprises upper and lower generally bowl-shaped sections 11 and 12, respectively, disposed in face-to-face relation and having their rim portions confronting each other. Thus, the body member is generally discoid in shape having the peripheral surface thereof arcuate in cross-section. The. sections 11 and 12 contain mutually confronting circular recesses 13 and 14, respectively, forming a central ycavity in the body member which is adapted to receive a weight member 15. It will be noted that the side walls of the recesses 13 are tapered and that the side wall of the Weight member 1S is peaked at the vertical mid-point thereof to engage smoothly the walls of the recesses. This construction allows the weight to be securelyrheld in the ybody member as will be referred to in greater detail below. The body sections 11 and 12 have beveled surfaces 16 and 17, respectively, extending around the periphery of the respective rim portions thereof for forming an annular cavity, when the body is assembled, encircling the body member and being adapted to receive a bumper yring 18. The bumper ring 18 is triangular in cross- It will be noted that the bottom surface of the sectionV 12 within the recess 21 therein is dished-out, as indicated 'at 24. As best seen in FIG. 3, the wearing surface of the running ring forms smooth and uninterrupted surfaces Where it joins the dished-out surface 24 and the bottom surface of the section 12 which surrounds the annular recess. The bottom section includes a plurality of vertically extendingv bores 25 each of which extends from the circular recess 14 to the annular recess 21. The running ring, which is preferably molded from plastic materials using a phenolic resin binder but which may be formed from any suitable plastic material, includes a Y plurality of tapped inserts 26 molded therein each being adapted for alignment with a complementary bore 25 in the lower body section when the running ring is received in the annular recess.

Y The upper section 11 includes a central bore 27 extendingfrom the circular recess 13 to an enlarged bore 28 which opens at the top surface of the upper section at a dished-out portion 29. A handle 30 having an interiorly stone. A Washer 432 adapted to be lreceived in the dishedout portion 29 is provided to form a firm seat for the i Y handle 30 on the upper section 11. Preferably therwasher ing it to conformV to the top `having an enlarged upper portion 36 forming a Ashoulder which is adapted to receive the underside of the head of one of a plurality of bolts 3 7 yused to assemble the lowermost portion of the curling stone. The bores are adapted for alignment with respective tapped inserts 26 in the running ring. Preferably each bolt 37 contains a Wrench receiving socket 38 in the head thereof. A bolt 30, the head of which is adapted to the received in the recess 34, is provided for assembling the uppermost portion of the stone.

The curling stone of this invention is assembledas follows:

The bolt 39 is inverted and inserted in the bore 33 of the weight member until the head thereof is received in the central recess 34. The weight member is then lowered into the circular recess 14 of the bottom section until it is firmly seated therein. The walls of this recess as well as the walls of the recess 13 in the upper section and the side walls of the weight member are dimensioned and tapered so that when the weight is in its fully seated position the bottom surface thereof will be just out of contact with the base of the recess. In this way the weight member will be firmly secured and wedged within the body of the curling stone and prevented from moving therein. Next, the running ring 23 is inserted in the annular recess 21 provided in the bottom surface of the lower section.

y It will also be noted that the side walls of the running ring as well as the side walls of the annular recess are tapered so that when the running ring is fully seated the top surface thereof will be slightly spaced apart from the upper surface of the recess. This provides a space allowing the running ring to be fully and tightly drawn within the annular recess. The running ring and the annular yrecess are dimensioned to allow the ring to be securely on the lower body section, and the upper body section is lowered into place with the central bore 27 thereof receiving the upwardly extending shank of the bolt 39 and with its circular recess 13 snugly receiving the upper tapered portion of the weight member, Again, it will be noted that the bumper ring 18 and the bevel surfaces 16 and 17 are dimensioned to provide a thin annular space between the confronting rims of the upper and lower body sections. This insures a tight fit for the bumper ring since the beveled surfaces will be allowed to exert an outward force on the bumper ring when the body sections are drawn together thereby placing the ring under tension in the recess encircling the body member. Preferably, the exposed surface of this ring forms a smooth and uninterrupted juncture with the body sections. The washer 32 is lowered over the exposed tip of the bolt 39, and the handle 30 is attached to the curling stone by threadingly engaging the interiorly threaded stud 31 thereof with the bolt 39. Rotation of the handle will draw the entire assembly tightly together.

The handle of the curling stone of this invention is preferably made of metal. The upper and lower body sections may be molded or otherwise formed of any suitable plastic material, or they may be made of wood or any other suitable material. Preferably, the body of the curling stone is provided in different colors for identification of the curling stones in play. The coloring may be obtained from the color of the molded material,

.or the body sections may be painted the desired color.

The bumper ring and especially the running ring, which Aare the parts of the curling stone subjected to the most wear, may be easily replaced when they have become worn. The molded running ring of this invention has been found to be very durable. However, the contour of the wearing surface of this ring is critical in determining the amount of curl of the stone as it travels along the surface of the'ice, and when the ring becomes worn to the point where it no longer imparts the desired amount of curl to the stone, it is preferable to replace the same. Since the running ring represents only a small part of the entire curling stone, this replacement can be accomplished with little cost. The running ring can be manufactured to very close tolerances so that each ring will impart substantially the same amount of curl to the stone. The peaked wearing surface of the running ring may be slightly attened or roughened, as indicated at 40 in FIG- URE 4, during its manufacture for attaining the desired amount of curl. This is a desirable feature as it allows the curling stone to have substantially the same behavior after a ring has been replaced.

Thus it will be seen that by this invention a curling stone has been provided which may be assembled from a number of manufactured parts. The curling stone is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and it is very durable in nature thereby giving years of satisfactory service to the user thereof. The parts of the curling stone which are subjected to the most wear, viz., the running ring and possibly the bumper ring, may be easily and quickly replaced. The curling stone of this invention permits the weight member to be accurately centered in the body thereof, thereby insuring the provision of a stone of balanced construction which willA travel over the ice in l a smooth and steady path without wobbling or moving in any other irregular manner.

While the invention has been shown in but one form it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not to be so limited, but it is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A curling stone having a body member comprising; upper and lower generally bowl-shaped sections, said sections having their rim portions confronting each other for forming therebetween a central cavity, a Weight member mounted in said cavity, said upper section having a handle secured to the top surface thereof and said lower section having a concentric annular recess in the bottom Vrim portions confronting each other for forming therebetween a central cavity, a Weight member mounted in said cavity, each of said sections having a beveled surface extending around the periphery of the rim thereof for forming an annular cavity encircling said body member, a bumper ring mounted in said annular cavity, said upper section having a handle secured to the top surface thereof and said lower section having a concentric annular recess in the bottom surface thereof, and a running ring mounted, in said annular recess, said running ring having a continuous wearing surface extending slightly beyond the bottom surface of said lower section.

3. A curling stone according to claim 2 wherein the bottom surface `of said lower section is dished-out and Vwherein the continuous wearing surface of said running ring is peaked for smoothly joining said dished-out portion and the remainder of the bottom surface of the lower section.

4. A curling stone having a body member comprising upper and lower generally bowl-shaped sections, said sections having their rim portions confronting each other for forming therebetween a central cavity, a weight member positioned in said cavity, each of said sections having a beveled surface extending around the periphery of the 4rim thereof for forming an annular cavity encircling said body member, a bumper'ring mounted in said annular cavity, said lower` section having a concentric annular recess in the bottom surface thereof, a running ring positioned in said annular recess and having a continu'- ous wearing surface which extends slightly beyond the bottom surface of said lower section, a handle positioned above the upper section of the body member, means for adjustably clamping the running ring, lower section and weight member together, and other means for adjustably clamping the weight member, upper section and handle together and the bumper ring between the upper and lower sections.

5. A curling stone of composite construction comprising upper and lower members having respective confronting faces, said members being secured together with their confronting faces in contact and thereby forming a discoid shaped body, at least one of said members having a recess in the confronting face thereof and forming an internal cavity in said body, a handle secured to said body at the upper surface thereof, a weight member mounted in said cavity, said body including an annular recess in the bottom surface thereof, which recess is symmetrical with respect to the vertical central axis of said body, a running ring mounted in said recess, said ring having a continuous wearing surface contained in a plane extending slightly beneath the bottom surface of said body and perpendicular to said axis.

6. A curling stone of composite construction comprising upper and lower members having respective confronting faces, said members being detachably secured together with their confronting faces in contact by first fastener means and thereby forming a discoid shaped body,

at least one of said members having a recess in the confronting face thereof and forming `an internal cavity in said body, a handle secured to said body on the upper surface thereof, a weight member mounted in said cavity, said body including an annular recess in the bottom surface thereof, which recess is symmetrical with respect to the vertical central axis of said body, a replaceable yrunning ring detachably secured in said recess by second fastener means, said ring having a continuous wearing surface contained in a plane extending slightly beneath the bottom surface of said body and perpendicular to said axis, said second fastener means being accessible upon disassembly of said members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,629,601 2/53 Rockola 273-82 X 2,640,699 6/53 Garbo 273-128 2,812,184 11/57 McGee 273-128 X 3,092,386 6/63 Dettman 273-82 FOREIGN PATENTS 228,395 2/25 Great Britain. 1,092,539 11/54 France.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS R. PRINCE, Examiner. 

1. A CURLING STONE HAVING A BODY MEMBER COMPRISING; UPPER AND LOWER GENERALLY BOWL-SHAPED SECTIONS, SAID SECTIONS HAVING THEIR RIM PORTIONS CONFRONTING EACH OTHER FOR FORMING THEREBETWEEN A CENTRAL CAVITY, A WEIGHT MEMBER MOUNTED IN SAID CAVITY, SAID UPPER SECTION HAVING A HANDLE SECURED TO THE TOP SURFACE THEREOF AND SAID LOWER SECTION HAVING A CONCENTRIC ANNULAR RECESS IN THE BOTTOM 